This invention relates to a vehicle panel, such as a trim panel and to the electrical interconnection of vehicle components.
In conventional vehicle construction wires which are used to connect and supply power to the components which make up the electrical system of the vehicle are secured to vehicle trim panels by-various types of clips and straps. These wires have to be secured to vehicle trim panels and connected to electrical components manually on an assembly line. This installation process is time consuming, labour intensive and frequently gives rise to errors. Furthermore design changes with such a configuration can cause considerable difficulties. A form board (generally referred to as tooling) is used to lay out the wire in a specific design for one area of the vehicle. If there is a design change then the form board needs to be modified, delaying production and also increasing manufacturing cost.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of producing a vehicle panel comprising the steps of:
laying wire on a first sheet of thermoplastic or thermoset composite material in a desired configuration;
placing or forming a second sheet of thermoplastic or thermoset material on the first sheet of material thereby sandwiching the wire; and
pressing the sheets together so that they encase and insulate the wire, wherein the wire is left exposed at connection points formed by apertures in the sheets;
wherein the wire is secured by wire holders at positions corresponding to the connection points prior to pressing or forming the second sheet of thermoplastic material, and a method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wire holders are arranged to be flush or recessed with respect to one surface of the panel when it is formed.
The method of the present invention removes the need for manual clipping of the wires into position, thus reducing the labour cost of assembling the panel. Furthermore according to the present invention the panel can be a modular structure. This reduces the complexity of the process of installing the panel in a vehicle, further reducing labour costs. The reduction in manual labour both in assembly and installation of panels also reduces the frequency of errors occurring and reduces the amount of damage sustained by the panels during assembly and installation.
Preferably a method of producing a vehicle panel further comprises the step of heating the sheets prior to forming them together.
Preferably the first or second thermoplastic or thermoset sheet is a composite laminate.
Preferably the wire is laid manually, although the wire of the present invention can be laid automatically by a wire laying machine. This reduces labour costs and time in the assembly process, as well as reducing errors. Moreover with automatic wire laying, design changes can easily, quickly and relatively cheaply be incorporated, as it requires only a change in software and not a change in tooling which is required each time a wiring design is changed in prior art trim panel assemblies.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle panel comprising:
at least one electrically conductive wire;
a thermoplastic or thermoset sheet encasing and insulating the conductive wire; and,
apertures in the sheet containing holders to retain the wire and to allow the wire to be connected to external electrical components, wherein the wire holders are substantially flush or recessed with the surface of the panel.
The panel of the present invention does not require the clips, straps, tubes or tape of conventional panels for securing wires, thereby reducing the cost of the trim panel assembly. Furthermore the space and weight of the panel and wiring system of the present invention is less than in conventional panels. Also the panel of the present invention provides insulation for the wire, therefore the wire does not have to be insulated prior to assembly of the panel. Using non-insulated wires reduces the processing of the wire and reduces the cost of the raw materials needed for a panel.
The panel may be a trim panel. The sheet may be a composite laminate. The vehicle may comprise plural electrically conductive wires, insulated from one another by the sheet. The sheet may be made from continuos unidirectional glass reinforced polypropylene (CUGRP), random glass reinforced or natural fibre reinforced or may be glass reinforced polyurethane (S-RIM).
The wire holders are preferably adapted to be compatible with insulation displacement connectors (IDCs).
An insulation displacement connector works by an insulated wire being forced into a xe2x80x98Vxe2x80x99 shaped slot. The width of the xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d is less than that of the diameter of the wirexe2x80x94thus the V shape cuts into the insulation of the wire and into the wire itself.
The terminal, being made of conductive material, forms a contact once the insulation has been displaced and it is touching the wire.